In 2008, 68 percent of Americans were overweight or obese, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. If you fit one of these categories, fad diets that promise "rapid" or "miraculous" results may seem like your perfect solution. Unfortunately, they're often difficult to stick to and can pose numerous health risks, including gallstones and irregular heartbeat. A healthier, proven option involves a balanced, nutritious overall diet paired with regular exercise. Before altering your exercise and eating habits, seek approval from a doctor and a dietitian.
Caloric Requirement
To lose 1 lb., you must burn 3500 calories more than you reap from your diet. Rather than lose weight rapidly, which poses multiple risks, the CDC recommends that you eat about 500 calories less per day to lose 1 lb. a week. Gradual weight loss tends to bring the best long-term success. You can cut your caloric intake by fewer calories and increase the amount you burn through exercise to achieve similar results.
Helpful Foods
Rather than become a human calculator, tabulating every calorie that enters or leaves your body, the American Dietetic Association, or ADA, suggests emphasizing nutritious foods and replacing high-calorie, low-nutrient foods with lighter options. Fiber-rich foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, promote appetite control and enable you to fill up on fewer calories. Especially fiber-rich foods include beans, lentils, peas, raspberries, barley, oats, flax seed, almonds and popcorn. Lean protein-rich foods provide lower-calorie, heart-healthy alternatives to high-fat meats and dairy products. Choosing half of a skinless chicken breast instead of two thick slices of bacon, for example, saves you more than 200 calories and 30 g of fat. Replacing whole milk with skim in your latte saves you 95 calories.
Unhelpful Foods
Managing your weight does not require skipping all of your favorite indulgences. Appropriate weight-loss plans allow for occasional sweets, the Mayo Clinic says. Incorporating modest amounts of less-nutritious foods you desire can stave off feelings of deprivation, lowering your risk of halting your efforts. It can also prevent bouts of overeating and resultant weight gain. A high-sugar diet may also lead to weight gain, so use moderation when consuming regular soft drinks, candy, pancake syrup, frozen desserts and conventional cookies, cakes and pies. Too much unhealthy fat and cholesterol increases your risk of obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease. To avoid these risks, limit your intake of red, fried and processed meats, high-fat dairy products, fried foods, fast food and commercial foods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Creating Balance
Your diet should contain a variety of healthy foods from each essential group, including complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats. To aid this process, the ADA suggests buying fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains from the bakery, low-fat milk from the dairy case and lean poultry and fish from the meat department of your grocery store. You should also balance your physical activity with food intake. On days you eat more than usual, set a goal of increasing the length or intensity of your next workout. To avoid overeating high-calorie, low-nutrient fare, keep only modest amounts of tempting snack and dessert foods in your home or workplace. Share desserts with a friend or loved one when dining out, and reserve half of oversize restaurant meals for leftovers.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Overweight and Obesity Statistics
- Weight-Control Information Network: Weight Loss and Nutrition Myths
- American Dietetic Association: Back to Basics for Healthy Weight Management
- What's Cooking America: Nutrition and Calorie Chart
- Mayo Clinic: Choosing a Healthy Weight Loss Plan
- American Heart Association: Know Your Fats
- Mayo Clinic: Added Sugars and Sweeteners
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